Travel, Etc.

Travel, Etc.

Travel, Etc.

Travel, Etc. --> Raccoon Tales

Raccoon Tales
A lesson in cooling your spaghetti sauce

A few years ago I received this note from reader Laurie W. about our spaghetti sauce recipe. After reading it, Linda suggested that I relate the real reason why we start our spaghetti sauce at about noon...

"Hi Doug...thanks for the re-recipe for the spaghetti sauce...my copy is pretty splattered up so I will print it out again! We call this "Midnight Spaghetti" because - no matter what time you start it - you're still dinkin' around with it at midnight!"
Laurie

About eight years ago in November, we decided to make a big batch of spaghetti sauce on a Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, we didn't get it underway until almost four o'clock. At nine o'clock, when the sauce was finally ready, it was way too hot to split into freezer bags or even put into the refrigerator. It was about 40 degrees outside, so we decided to cover the pan and set it on the deck to cool. Then we retired to the living room with a glass of wine so Linda (and I) could watch a little TV while we waited for it to cool so we could bag it before we went to bed.

It was about 7 am when I woke up, remembered the sauce and thought "Uh-oh"... A glance out the kitchen patio doors confirmed my worst fears. The deck resembled a set from a "B" horror movie, maybe the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The door windows were splattered red, our stock pot was on its side half way down the stairs, and the entire deck was covered with lots of bright red raccoon prints. We still have no idea how many raccoons it took to consume nine quarts of spaghetti sauce, but I do know I had to power wash the deck to get it clean. That's why we always start our sauce at noon.